Review: Feist

So I’m just going to go ahead and say it, it’s hard to play Feist without thinking of Limbo. Feist is a side scrolling platformer that is pretty tough, and isn’t all that rewarding. The game is pretty short overall, with only 10 levels that can be completed in less than 10 minutes each. Most times when playing Feist, I felt frustrated, and I just couldn’t wait till the end of the level. Though the levels are pretty short, they can be infuriating, as I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do, and occasionally there are so many enemies that all I wanted to do was run to the end of the level.

Monsters have kidnapped you, and you begin the game in a box strung up in the air. After quickly escaping, you journey to rescue your fellow friend that has also been captured by the monsters. It’s pretty light on story, as short scenes in between levels showcase what type of enemies will appear in the next section. Feist doesn’t showcase much in terms of different environments. The main jungle setting and a cave halfway through the game is about all you’ll see. The jungle looks great, and the soundtrack does a nice job at evoking the jungle setting.

Levels in Feist are short, and are meant to be replayed. In the menus, you can opt to see the statistics at the end of each level. These count how many times you were injured, how many deaths you had and how long it took you to complete the level. It also shows the target time for you to replay and master that perfect run of each level. I didn’t find myself wanting to replay the levels for better times and most times I had enough deaths that I didn’t dare try to complete levels without dying. If Feist hooks you long enough, you may find yourself wanting to complete the entire game and obtain the platinum trophy, but this is a game I didn’t feel compelled to go back and complete everything.

Some levels end in boss fights, where you’ll grab sticks, rocks and whatever else you can find to defeat them. The monsters you fight are tough, and it requires a lot of trial and error before victory can be achieved. The final boss fight in particular was very frustrating, as I was struggling with the controls, as well as numerous frame rate drops. This threw off my timing and only led to more frustration. I even encountered a few glitches during the final fight that completely distorted the background, and some enemies and projectiles then became invisible, making it impossible for me to win.

Feist isn’t a bad game, but it wasn’t all that enjoyable at the same time. Most times I just wanted to get through the level as quickly as possible, which I suppose is the goal if you are trying to beat the speedrun times. There are occasional framerate drops in the game, but they don’t really show their true colors until the end of the game. The game is pretty short, so don’t expect a long journey. The game’s longevity can be increased if you care about clearing the levels with the fastest time and without dying.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here.